“Eric Andersen’s Bayview Cab is becoming a common sight on South Whidbey.Jim Larsen / staff photoA big yellow taxi is now cruising the roads of South Whidbey.Although Bayview Cab is just over a month old, owner Eric Andersen has years of experience in the cab business. He hopes that experience and resulting good service will allow his cab company to survive in an area where probably no one has ever stood on a curb and hollered taxi!Andersen’s bright yellow 1987 Chevrolet Caprice is the first of two vehicles his company will soon offer. The other, a 1989 Plymouth van, will soon be on the road taking customers to Sea-Tac.The two vehicles, Andersen said, will allow him to take anybody anywhere.Andersen, 36, drove a Yellow Cab in Seattle and spent 10 years as a Yellow Cab supervisor. His cabby experience also includes extensive driving in rural Eastern Washington, so offering cab service in less populated areas is nothing new to him.Andersen would like people to call his cab not only for a ride to the store or to the ferry, but also to deliver prescription drugs and groceries. He and his professional drivers will offer prompt service in a clean, fully licensed and insured cab, outfitted to meet the strict cab laws of Seattle. The rates, for example, are clearly marked on the outside of the cab. The cost from Bayview to the ferry dock is approximately $10.A Seattle native, Andersen moved to Whidbey Island about a year ago when his sister, Janie Gabelein, told him about a mechanic job opening with the South Whidbey School District. Andersen got the job as a bus mechanic and immediately started planning his cab service in his spare time. His niece and nephew, Jon and Amy Gabelein, have served as daytime cab drivers since the company started doing business May 1.Andersen said he will begin round-the-clock service June 21 when his school bus driving friends have more time to help out. Drivers are key to the whole job, I’m pretty picky, he said, expressing full confidence in South Whidbey’s school bus drivers.Andersen has plenty of unusual cab stories from his 10 years as a driver, dispatcher and supervisor in Seattle. He remembers waiting for hours at the Crown Plaza for customers, only to get professional baseball players who, though highly paid, are notoriously cheap. Must cabbies shunned $2 rides to the Kingdome, but Andersen found a way to make ballplayers profitable. He learned to offer them free rides, for which they’d gladly give him a $10 tip. On they way, they’d sign autograph cards, and at the ballpark he’d sell the autographs to fans. His free ride would often net him $20.Andersen is working to make his Bayview Cab a common presence in Langley. This week, he asked the City Council to allow a taxi stand sign on First Street, outside the Dog House Tavern. Not that he’s depending on imbibers for customers. I’m not targeting drunks, although it’s great to take a drunk off the road, he said. A major focus will be senior citizens, who will be offered a 30 percent discount on fares.Andersen first drove cab when he was 18 years old, and he knows the dangers and complexities of the job. One time, he was even shot. Cab drivers deserve more respect, he said. Nobody takes it seriously, but this is a serious job. It should be respected. One of his favorite cities is Paris where cab drivers must serve a long apprenticeship and undergo extensive testing before becoming licensed.Bayview Cab is the only cab company presently operating from South Whidbey. Oak Harbor has two businesses offering cab service, Andersen said. But he claims that his is the best taxi experience on the island.I know what makes a taxi a taxi, he said. For information about Bayview Cab, call 321-4949 or visit the Web site at www.bayviewcab.com. “